A worker died in a construction accident after falling several stories down at a site in Brooklyn Heights. According to a news report in Brownstoner.com, police and emergency personnel who responded to the call found the victim lying unconscious on a second-floor terrace. A notice filed with New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) said the man had fallen from the roof of the 10-story building at 124 Columbia Heights.
Alleged Safety Violations at the Site
A construction worker at the site said the victim had not been wearing a harness
at the time of the fall. The property where this fatal construction accident occurred has several active construction permits for work ranging from plumbing and electrical to the installation of a temporary elevator. The report states that since July 2020, 17 complaints about worker safety at the site have been filed at with DOB and the city’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings.
In November, the construction company involved in this recent deadly fall incident was ordered to pay $10,000 for “failure to safeguard all persons and property affected by construction operations.” It was the second fine issued for failure to follow safety measures in six months.
Other complaints alleged that there were not enough guardrails at the site and that vertical safety nets had not been installed. Last April, a stop-work order was issued after several safety violations were reported including failure to alert DOB to an injury on site.
Importance of Fall Protection
Based on this news report, a co-worker had stated that the victim had not been wearing a harness. Personal fall protection systems have proven very effective when it comes to preventing fall-related construction fatalities. A lot of construction activity in New York requires working from a height or elevation. Ironworkers, steelworkers, carpenters, masons, laborers or electricians typically need to use scaffolds, platforms, ladders etc. to carry out their tasks. Construction workers who are at greater risk of roof fatalities include roofers, ironworkers and those employed with roofing contractors or at residential construction sites.
New York’s Scaffolding Law (Section 240 of the New York Labor Code) requires contractors, owners and their agents to be responsible for providing necessary equipment such as scaffolds, ladders, hoists, stays, irons, ropes, blocks braces and other devices to keep workers safe from fall-related accidents. Workers injured in falls can bring civil actions against the construction company, contractor and property owner/manager, etc. responsible for the safety of the jobsite.
Construction companies, building owners/managers etc. have a responsibility to provide fall protection as well as other personal protective equipment at no cost to workers. Workers should also receive safety training and information about how to use protective equipment in a language they can understand.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
A victim who has been injured in a construction accident, in addition to workers’ comp, may be able to file a third-party lawsuit for substantial money damages against a number of parties, and thus have two sources of compensation. Third-party claims are filed against parties other than the employer or co-employees and may include general contractors, sub-contractors, building owners, managing agents, construction companies, etc. In cases where a worker dies from injuries suffered on the job, surviving family members may seek death benefits through workers’ compensation and depending on the extent of liability, also file a wrongful death claim against a third party.
If you have suffered injuries in a construction-related accident, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
Our law firm recovered $3,375,576 for a construction worker (an undocumented immigrant) who was injured on the job — one of the highest construction case settlements in New York that year. Our law firm also recovered $3,000,000 for a man who fell and suffered two broken legs when he walked into an open elevator shaft. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury and/or medical malpractice cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: https://www.brownstoner.com/development/brooklyn-heights-construction-death-124-columbia-heights-safety-jehovahs-witness-dorm/